2026 Chevy Equinox EV Is $10,000 Off: Does That Make Buying New Cheaper Than Used?
The Equinox EV Just Broke the Used vs. New Math
You're shopping for an affordable EV crossover. You've been doing what any smart buyer does: looking at certified pre-owned listings, figuring a lightly used 2024 model will save you $8,000–$10,000 over sticker and let someone else eat the first-year depreciation. Solid plan. Except this week, dealers started discounting the 2026 Chevy Equinox EV by $10,000 off MSRP — roughly 20% — according to Electrek's reporting on current floor incentives.
That changes everything. Or does it?
A $10,000 new-car discount doesn't automatically beat buying used. But when you layer on the $7,500 federal EV tax credit (now claimable at point of sale), an already-cheap new EV starts looking suspiciously cheaper than the used alternative. This is the kind of math that sounds simple but gets complicated fast — because depreciation curves, used EV credit eligibility, insurance tiers, and financing rates all pull in different directions at once.
Let's build the actual numbers.
What the $10,000 Discount Does to the New Car Price
The 2026 Chevy Equinox EV 1LT has an MSRP of $34,995. After the $10,000 dealer discount, you're at $24,995 — already within shouting distance of compact sedan territory.
Now apply the $7,500 federal EV tax credit, which under current IRS rules can be applied at the point of sale (meaning you see the reduction immediately, not at tax time). Your effective out-of-pocket: $17,495.
That is a new electric crossover. For $17,495. Let that sink in.
Meanwhile, a used 2024 Equinox EV 1LT with around 22,000 miles is currently trading for approximately $23,500 in most markets. The used EV tax credit (up to $4,000, capped at 30% of purchase price, for vehicles under $25,000) applies here — but only if the car qualifies and you meet the income threshold. If everything lines up: $19,500 effective cost.
The new car is already $2,005 cheaper than the used car on day one. Before you've driven a mile.
This is not normal. And it's happening because the EV market is flooding with new supply at exactly the wrong time for used EV holders.
Why the Used EV Market Is Getting Squeezed From All Directions
Three converging forces are hammering used EV resale values right now:
1. New-car discounts are collapsing the floor. When you can buy new for $17,495 effective, the "used is cheaper" argument evaporates. Any dealer trying to move a used 2024 Equinox EV at $23,000+ is fighting math they can't win.
2. The affordable EV pipeline keeps expanding. Kia just launched its most affordable EV yet — the EV2 — at prices lower than expected, with first European deliveries starting imminently. When the entry point for a new EV keeps dropping, every used EV sitting on a lot loses ground.
3. Luxury brands are cannibalizing their own segments. Bentley's CEO just publicly acknowledged that their upcoming electric SUV will pull sales away from the gasoline Bentayga — meaning luxury EV supply is about to surge. That ripple effect moves down-market over time: premium used EVs lose value, which pressures mid-tier used EVs, which puts more downward pressure on mass-market models like the Equinox EV.
We've written about this dynamic before — EV depreciation is accelerating in ways that make used EV pricing genuinely unpredictable. The Equinox EV discount is a live example of exactly that paradox playing out in real time.
The Worked TCO: New vs. Used Equinox EV Over 5 Years
Let's build a full 5-year total cost of ownership comparison for a driver doing 12,000 miles per year in a mid-cost electricity market (average $0.16/kWh), financed at 6.5% over 60 months, with standard full-coverage insurance.
New 2026 Equinox EV 1LT
| Cost Category | Amount |
|---|---|
| Purchase price (after $10K discount + $7,500 credit) | $17,495 |
| Estimated 5-year residual value | -$12,250 |
| Net depreciation cost | $5,245 |
| Electricity (60K miles at ~3.0 mi/kWh, $0.16/kWh) | $3,200 |
| Insurance — full coverage, 5 years | $9,600 |
| Maintenance (EV, lower servicing needs) | $1,800 |
| Registration and fees | $800 |
| 5-Year TCO (cash buyer) | $20,645 |
Used 2024 Equinox EV 1LT (22K miles)
| Cost Category | Amount |
|---|---|
| Purchase price (after $4,000 used EV credit) | $19,500 |
| Estimated 5-year residual value (7-year-old EV) | -$6,500 |
| Net depreciation cost | $13,000 |
| Electricity (60K miles) | $3,200 |
| Insurance — full coverage, 5 years | $8,800 |
| Maintenance (older vehicle, out-of-warranty risk) | $2,800 |
| Registration and fees | $700 |
| 5-Year TCO (cash buyer) | $28,500 |
The new 2026 Equinox EV wins by approximately $7,855 over five years in this worked scenario.
The residual value gap is doing most of the heavy lifting. The new car retains roughly 35% of its $34,995 sticker (~$12,250) after five years. The used car — already two years old, with ~82,000 miles by year five — lands closer to $6,500. That's a $6,500 gap in depreciation alone, before you factor in the higher used-car financing rate and slightly elevated maintenance exposure.
This is the kind of analysis DriveDecision runs for you — so you don't have to build the spreadsheet yourself.
The Kia EV9 Earth: A Cautionary Tale About "Good Enough" Compromises
While all this Equinox EV action is happening at the affordable end, Carscoops just published a review of the 2026 Kia EV9 Earth — the mid-range trim of Kia's three-row electric SUV. The verdict: it gets the hard parts right (range, interior, dynamics) but stumbles on the obvious ones. What that usually means in practice: buyers pay a premium for capability they like, then discover a friction point that erodes the ownership experience.
The EV9 Earth starts around $56,000–$58,000, nearly $30,000 more than a discounted Equinox EV 1LT. That's a massive gap — and it raises a different used-vs-new question: Is a used EV9 from 2024 smarter than a new one at full price?
The answer depends on whether Kia's quality-of-life issues in the mid-trim translate to resale risk. When a reviewer finds a flaw in the "obvious" category, that's often what shows up in owner forums two years later — and owner-forum sentiment directly affects used resale. We've looked at how trim-level compromises affect depreciation trajectories — and mid-range trims that disappoint tend to underperform on resale vs. top-tier trims that "just work."
But YOUR Numbers Depend on YOUR Inputs
Here's where the worked example runs out of usefulness — and where your personal situation takes over.
The $7,855 new-car advantage we calculated assumes:
- You qualify for the full $7,500 EV tax credit (income under $150K single / $300K joint, MSRP under $55K — Equinox EV qualifies on price)
- You qualify for the $4,000 used EV credit on the competitor vehicle (income under $75K single / $150K joint, vehicle price under $25K, car not older than 2 model years from original sale)
- Your electricity rate is $0.16/kWh — if you're in California at $0.30+/kWh, the fuel savings shrink; if you're in the Pacific Northwest at $0.10/kWh, they grow
- You're driving 12,000 miles/year — at 18,000 miles/year, depreciation is faster on both vehicles, but maintenance costs diverge more sharply in the used car's disfavor
- Your insurance tier — a 25-year-old in Miami pays roughly twice what a 42-year-old in Phoenix pays for the same vehicle
Change any three of those variables and the winner can flip. This is why the used vs. new decision is never as simple as "I save money buying used" — it's always a function of your specific combination of tax status, mileage, location, and risk tolerance.
For a parallel on how this plays out with hybrid alternatives — where a similar "buy used vs. new" calculus applies — the 2026 Honda CR-V Hybrid vs. Gas comparison shows just how much the break-even shifts when you adjust annual mileage alone.
The Bottom Line
This moment in the EV market is unusual. Normally, buying a 2-year-old used vehicle at a significant discount is the rational move — you let the first owner absorb the steepest part of the depreciation curve, then ride the flatter middle years.
But a $10,000 new-car discount plus a $7,500 point-of-sale tax credit compresses that first-owner depreciation hit so aggressively that the math flips. The new 2026 Equinox EV isn't just competitive with its used predecessor — in our worked example, it's nearly $8,000 cheaper over five years.
That said, our scenario is one scenario. Your mileage profile, tax situation, zip code, insurance history, and financing options create a completely different calculation — one that could swing $4,000 in either direction.
Run your specific numbers at DriveDecision before you commit. The math isn't complicated once you have the right inputs — but those inputs are the whole game.
Sources
- Bentley’s Electric SUV Will Cost Bentayga Money, CEO Says — The Drive
- Kia’s 2026 EV9 Earth Gets The Hard Part Right And Stumbles On The Obvious One | Review — Carscoops
- The Chevy Equinox EV is 20% off right now with a $10,000 discount — Electrek
- Kia launches its most affordable EV at lower prices than expected — Electrek
- Mercedes Built Its Greatest Sedan With Porsche, And The Last One Ever Made Has 262 Miles On It — Carscoops